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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rash — hasty
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rash — a series
  8. last — to go on
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — finally
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. last — final
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. track — a path
  20. stock — shares
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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