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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · firm · spring · chair · lean · bowl · wound · swing

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. stock — shares
  4. spring — of water
  5. firm — a company
  6. firm — steady
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. lean — thin
  10. spring — the season
  11. stock — goods
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. swing — music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lean — to bend
  19. swing — to play on
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com