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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 · charge · wake · club · stock · land · hand · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. charge — in control
  5. club — for golf
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. land — ground
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. stock — goods
  11. wake — a trail
  12. hand — in cards
  13. charge — electricity
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stock — shares
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. club — a group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. charge — a price
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the 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