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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: straw · present · last · stock · field · clip · mug · bore

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. present — the time now
  3. last — finally
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. last — final
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. present — there
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mug — a cup
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. stock — shares
  17. bore — to tire
  18. present — a gift
  19. last — to go on
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bore — to drill
  22. clip — for paper
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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