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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: shower · chest · bore · row · wave · stock · stick · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — to tire
  4. chest — a box
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — rain
  9. row — to paddle
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stock — shares
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. lean — thin
  18. stock — goods
  19. row — a line
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bore — gave birth

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