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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 116 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. stock — goods
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. land — to come down
  7. row — a line
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. land — a country
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rash — a series
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. branch — a division
  15. stock — shares
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — ground
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. patient — a sick person
  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