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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 124 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: spring · ball · tear · board · face · stock · lean · key

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spring — of water
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. face — to confront
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. lean — to bend
  10. key — in music
  11. spring — the season
  12. ball — a dance
  13. board — a committee
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tear — to rip
  18. board — to get on
  19. key — for a lock
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. key — the most important part
  22. face — to point toward
  23. spring — a coil
  24. lean — thin

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