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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: court · board · lean · stock · ruler · land · swing · bowl

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. board — to get on
  6. stock — goods
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. court — for sport
  9. stock — shares
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lean — thin
  15. swing — to play on
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. board — a committee
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. court — of a king
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. court — of law
  24. swing — music

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