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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: stock · lash · spring · file · bowl · lean · chest · game

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. game — a match
  5. lean — thin
  6. spring — the season
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. file — a tool
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. lean — to bend
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a document
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stock — shares
  20. chest — a box
  21. game — wild animals
  22. spring — of water
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — a coil

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