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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: field · land · bound · bat · stock · content · jam · staff

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bat — the animal
  5. stock — shares
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — certain
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — a subject
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stock — goods
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — a country
  21. content — the amount
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — ground
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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