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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.

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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: game · cell · pitch · face · stock · cabinet · pound · straw

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. face — to point toward
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stock — goods
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stock — shares
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — part of the head

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