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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chest — a box
  6. scale — in music
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. scale — size or range
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stock — shares
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. pop — to visit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — soda
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. scale — for weighing

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