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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 112 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. spring — the season
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chair — a leader
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stock — shares
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stock — goods
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. ground — crushed
  13. deal — to handle
  14. spring — of water
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — a position

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