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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: date · ground · game · mouse · stock · present · bat · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. present — the time now
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. present — a gift
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stock — shares
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bat — the animal
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. game — a match
  17. present — there
  18. date — the fruit
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stock — goods
  24. ground — a position

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