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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: leaves · track · ground · straw · game · stock · season · present

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ground — crushed
  5. season — in sport
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. game — a match
  8. present — there
  9. present — the time now
  10. stock — shares
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. present — a gift
  14. game — wild animals
  15. ground — a position
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. ground — the earth
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stock — goods

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