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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 116 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: fork · cell · firm · wound · content · stock · drill · lean

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. firm — steady
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. cell — a phone
  8. lean — thin
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stock — shares
  11. lean — to bend
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — happy
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. firm — decided
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — in a road
  19. firm — a company
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stock — goods

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