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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: land · chair · lean · deal · wound · swing · mug · stock

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. land — a country
  3. swing — music
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wound — an injury
  6. land — ground
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. lean — thin
  11. mug — a face
  12. swing — to play on
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — shares
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. chair — a leader
  22. deal — to handle
  23. land — to come down
  24. deal — a big deal

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