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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: bay · leaves · stock · bound · toast · cold · game · bat

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bound — obliged
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. stock — shares
  10. bound — certain
  11. stock — goods
  12. toast — bread
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. game — a match
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. stock — a soup base

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