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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: mate · mine · jam · shower · stock · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pop — to visit
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. stock — goods
  12. mate — a friend
  13. pop — music
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — rain
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. jam — in traffic

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