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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.

Words on the sheet
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: season · mouse · land · arm · straw · cold · jam · stock

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — a country
  5. season — of the year
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — an illness
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. land — ground
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. season — in sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stock — shares
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. season — to add flavour

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