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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: stock · straw · mate · board · press · can · land · ground

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. press — a publisher
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. can — to be able to
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. board — a committee
  10. land — to come down
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — newspapers
  14. mate — a friend
  15. press — to push
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — to breed
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. land — a country
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. board — to get on
  24. ground — the earth

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