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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: lean · swing · game · scale · spring · stock · sharp · plane

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. swing — in golf
  4. spring — of water
  5. sharp — clever
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. spring — a coil
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. swing — music
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lean — to bend
  15. spring — the season
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. stock — goods
  19. lean — thin
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stock — shares
  22. plane — a tool
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. swing — to play on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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