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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 112 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · stock · fork · tear · pop · land

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. land — a country
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — shares
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pop — to visit
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stock — goods
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — music
  14. sharp — clever
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. land — to come down
  18. pop — soda

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