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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — rain
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. present — there
  6. shower — to wash
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pit — in a race
  10. track — a song
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. land — a country
  14. track — to keep track
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. present — the time now
  18. stock — shares
  19. present — a gift
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. track — a path
  23. land — to come down
  24. pitcher — a jug

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