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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ball — a dance
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. land — to come down
  12. staff — employees
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — ground
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — music
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. staff — employees
  23. ball — a great time
  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