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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: lean · roll · land · stock · rest · spell · face · hand

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lean — thin
  4. rest — a break
  5. land — ground
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. lean — to bend
  8. face — part of the head
  9. roll — a list
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — help
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spell — letters
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. land — a country
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — magic
  21. rest — what's left
  22. roll — a cake
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — to confront

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