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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. last — to go on
  4. roll — a list
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. stock — goods
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. roll — a cake
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. last — finally
  20. pound — a weight
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. last — final
  24. sharp — exactly

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