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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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468
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: land · toast · content · ground · present · lash · racket · stock

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. land — ground
  3. content — happy
  4. present — the time now
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — a position
  12. present — a gift
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stock — shares
  15. ground — crushed
  16. content — the amount
  17. present — there
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. ground — the earth
  24. toast — bread

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