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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 · staff · wind · wound · last · bowl · leaves · toast

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. staff — a stick
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. stock — shares
  11. toast — bread
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. last — to go on
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — final
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. staff — employees

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