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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. spring — of water
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — goods
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rest — a break
  13. bank — for money
  14. stock — shares
  15. spring — the season
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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