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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: sharp · chest · lean · shower · wind · stock · ruler · arm

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — thin
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chest — of your body
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — goods
  16. chest — a box
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. sharp — clever
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. stock — shares
  24. wind — moving air

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