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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: row · field · wave · stock · object · wound · board · game

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — for sport
  9. object — to protest
  10. board — a committee
  11. row — a line
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — goods
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — to get on
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. field — farmland
  20. wound — an injury
  21. game — wild animals
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. object — a thing

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