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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: straw · bowl · swing · ground · cabinet · land · track · game

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. swing — music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. track — a path
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. track — to keep track
  13. land — to come down
  14. ground — crushed
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. ground — the earth
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. swing — to play on
  22. game — a match
  23. ground — a position
  24. cabinet — ministers

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