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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 · mate · lean · snap · file · bore · fan · game

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — to breed
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stock — shares
  7. game — a match
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. file — a document
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. file — a tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. game — wild animals
  20. snap — to click
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bore — to drill

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