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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 116 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: scale · kid · spring · stock · hand · lean · current · plane

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — of water
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. kid — to tease
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — shares
  10. scale — size or range
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. hand — help
  15. plane — a tool
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — the season
  18. lean — thin
  19. current — happening now
  20. kid — child
  21. current — electric
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lean — to bend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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