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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · content · stock · pit · band · mine

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. band — a music group
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — shares
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a ring
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. content — happy
  14. stock — goods
  15. mine — for digging
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. band — a rubber band

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