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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: stock · rash · cabinet · wind · lean · kid · game · vault

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. lean — thin
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rash — a series
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. vault — a safe
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. kid — child

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