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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: rest · game · bat · foot · stock · cabinet · mate · season

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. stock — shares
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rest — a break
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. mate — a partner
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — the animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. season — in sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. rest — what's left
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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