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

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — goods
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — to come down
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. land — ground
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. stock — shares
  14. ball — a dance
  15. land — a country
  16. capital — money
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — completely
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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