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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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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 · band · net · row · firm · drill · lean · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. row — to paddle
  3. net — after costs
  4. stock — shares
  5. net — in sport
  6. band — a ring
  7. row — a line
  8. drill — a practice
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — child
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lean — thin
  15. net — for catching
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. drill — the tool
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. drill — army training
  20. stock — goods
  21. lean — to bend
  22. firm — steady
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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