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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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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 · fall · deal · chip · land · present · last · pop

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — finally
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pop — music
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — to visit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. present — there
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. pop — soda
  14. deal — to handle
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. stock — shares
  19. present — a gift
  20. chip — for betting
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. last — final
  23. present — the time now
  24. land — a country

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