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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stock — goods
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. dip — to sink
  12. net — after costs
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. row — a line
  16. pitch — completely
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. date — the fruit
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. net — in sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stock — shares

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