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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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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: land · pit · wave · cell · stock · lean · temple · pound

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. lean — thin
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to bend
  6. land — ground
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pound — a weight
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. land — to come down
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pit — a hole
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pit — in a race
  22. stock — shares
  23. land — a country
  24. temple — a place of worship

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