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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: lean · wave · wound · mouse · kid · stick · land · stock

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. land — ground
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. land — to come down
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stock — goods
  15. lean — thin
  16. land — a country
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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