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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: rock · shower · bay · craft · bowl · lean · net · stock

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. stock — goods
  3. rock — music
  4. craft — boats
  5. net — after costs
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. stock — shares
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lean — thin
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. net — for catching
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. net — in sport
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. shower — rain

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