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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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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 · bat · bound · last · straw · band · stock · leaves

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bound — obliged
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. band — a music group
  13. stock — goods
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bound — certain
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. band — a ring
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bound — tied together

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