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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rock — music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. march — the month
  12. march — music
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stock — goods
  18. march — the month
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. shower — rain
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mine — belonging to me

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