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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: wound · bat · snap · stock · swing · bore · rash · leaves

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — hasty
  4. swing — in golf
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — to drill
  10. swing — to play on
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. swing — music
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. stock — shares
  24. snap — to click

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