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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — music
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pop — soda
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. track — a song
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. track — to keep track
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. track — a path
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pound — to hit hard

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