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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. land — ground
  3. stock — shares
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. land — to come down
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pop — music
  15. game — a match
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. chest — of your body
  20. root — the cause
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pound — a weight
  23. root — of a word
  24. land — a country

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