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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: cabinet · bound · last · game · cell · stock · mouse · swing

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. last — final
  5. stock — shares
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. game — a match
  10. bound — tied together
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. game — wild animals
  17. swing — music
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stock — goods
  21. cell — in biology
  22. last — finally
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bound — certain

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