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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. ground — a position
  8. row — a line
  9. ground — crushed
  10. rash — hasty
  11. suit — clothes
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — shares
  17. swing — music
  18. swing — in golf
  19. wake — a trail
  20. suit — in cards
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. swing — to play on
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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