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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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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 · shower · race · kick · mug · chair · root · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. race — a contest
  4. kick — in football
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stock — shares
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mug — a cup
  9. root — the cause
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. race — humankind
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — rain
  17. root — of a word
  18. mug — a face
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — goods
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. mug — to rob

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