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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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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: last · ground · board · leaves · stock · chest · mug · pitcher

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. last — final
  3. chest — a box
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mug — to rob
  13. ground — crushed
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ground — a position
  17. mug — a face
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — finally
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. board — a committee
  24. stock — goods

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