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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: chair · deal · perch · pitcher · land · spell · stock · tear

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. land — ground
  4. stock — shares
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. stock — goods
  7. land — to come down
  8. spell — letters
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spell — magic
  11. chair — a leader
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. perch — the fish
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. land — a country
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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