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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: land · wound · bowl · wind · straw · stock · foot · shower

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. shower — to wash
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. shower — rain
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. land — to come down
  18. foot — a measure
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. land — ground

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