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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. current — happening now
  6. bass — low music
  7. last — final
  8. bass — the fish
  9. stock — shares
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. land — a country
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chip — to eat
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. current — electric
  18. current — of water
  19. chip — for betting
  20. stock — goods
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spring — of water
  24. bear — to put up with

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