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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 120 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: pound · stock · last · game · ground · clip · bass · present

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stock — goods
  4. ground — the earth
  5. stock — shares
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — finally
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. game — a match
  10. bass — the fish
  11. present — a gift
  12. clip — a video
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. clip — to cut
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bass — low music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. last — final

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