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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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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 · lean · cap · cue · swing · chest · game · kid

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cue — a hint
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lean — thin
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stock — shares
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stock — goods
  10. chest — of your body
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cap — of ice
  16. game — a match
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — a hat
  22. kid — child
  23. cue — a signal
  24. stock — a soup base

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