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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. rock — a stone
  4. ground — the earth
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — a position
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. stock — shares
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. capital — money
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rock — music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pop — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — a soup base

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