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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ground — a position
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stock — shares
  12. march — music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. row — a line
  17. vault — a safe
  18. content — the amount
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. ground — the earth

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