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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: fine · bat · stock · ground · roll · swing · kick · land

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. stock — shares
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fine — all right
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fine — high quality
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. roll — a list
  15. ground — a position
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — a country
  21. kick — in football
  22. roll — a cake
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. land — to come down

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