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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 120 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: ground · fine · stock · bowl · chest · capital · lean · squash

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stock — shares
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. capital — money
  5. stock — goods
  6. ground — the earth
  7. chest — a box
  8. ground — a position
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lean — thin
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lean — to bend

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