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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · object · stock · field · perch · wind · chip · season

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. object — an aim
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wind — moving air
  4. perch — the fish
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stock — goods
  7. land — to come down
  8. object — a thing
  9. season — of the year
  10. stock — shares
  11. field — for sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — a subject
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chip — for betting
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. object — to protest
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — in a computer
  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