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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 · date · bowl · wind · plane · wake · saw

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — goods
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. plane — in geometry

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