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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: tube · last · swing · lean · stock · bear · fork · land

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. stock — goods
  6. bear — the animal
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. swing — to play on
  10. last — final
  11. fork — in a road
  12. bear — the animal
  13. land — ground
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. land — a country
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lean — to bend
  18. swing — in golf
  19. tube — a container
  20. swing — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. stock — shares

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