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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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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: pitcher · stock · sharp · bay · cold · can

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. stock — goods
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. can — to be able to
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — clever

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