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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: last · stock · tube · bat · cabinet · row · deal · season

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. last — finally
  4. season — in sport
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. season — of the year
  9. tube — a container
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. last — to go on
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. last — final
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. row — a line
  24. bat — the animal

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