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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. face — part of the head
  8. shower — rain
  9. face — to confront
  10. march — music
  11. net — in sport
  12. track — a path
  13. stock — shares
  14. track — a song
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — ground
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — for catching
  21. shower — to wash
  22. land — a country
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. net — after costs

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