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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pop — soda
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — to visit
  5. charge — a price
  6. track — a path
  7. row — a line
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pop — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. track — a song
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. charge — electricity
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. net — for catching
  22. charge — in control
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. jam — a tight spot

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