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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. row — to paddle
  4. last — finally
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. last — final
  10. row — a line
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — child
  15. last — to go on
  16. firm — steady
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. firm — a company
  20. stock — goods
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. firm — decided
  24. scale — size or range

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