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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: season · stock · rash · club · field · lean · chest · bear

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bear — the animal
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rash — a series
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for golf
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. lean — thin
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. season — of the year
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. field — farmland
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chest — of your body

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