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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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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — a stone
  5. land — to come down
  6. rock — music
  7. stock — shares
  8. last — to go on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. land — a country
  16. row — to paddle
  17. last — final
  18. row — a line
  19. last — finally
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. land — ground
  24. pitcher — a jug

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