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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: stock · file · mine · pitcher · roll · wake · cue · ground

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. file — a tool
  3. cue — for pool
  4. roll — a cake
  5. ground — crushed
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cue — a signal
  8. stock — shares
  9. ground — a position
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. roll — a list
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. file — a document
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stock — goods
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cue — a hint

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