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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — ground
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. land — a country
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. land — to come down
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. stock — shares
  24. stock — goods

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