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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 · fan · pop · file · degree · pound · bat · stock

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. file — a tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. stock — shares
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. file — a document
  9. pop — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pop — soda
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — goods
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bat — in an idiom

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