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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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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: bat · leaves · last · lean · roll · stock · deal · cell

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. last — final
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. cell — in biology
  5. deal — to handle
  6. lean — to bend
  7. roll — a list
  8. last — to go on
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. stock — goods
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cell — a phone
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lean — thin
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. roll — a cake
  24. stock — shares

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