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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. field — farmland
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. fine — all right
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — ground
  17. field — for sport
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — a country
  21. field — a subject
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. fine — high quality

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