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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: scale · lean · track · bore · spring · stock · pitcher · row

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stock — goods
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. lean — thin
  6. row — a line
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bore — to drill
  9. scale — in music
  10. stock — shares
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bore — to tire
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. track — a song
  21. track — a path
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lean — to rest against

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