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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.

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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: saw · chair · fall · arm · pop · land · lean · stock

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — the season
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lean — thin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pop — music
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chair — a leader
  16. land — a country
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. saw — the tool
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fall — to drop
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. land — ground
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chair — to sit on

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