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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: fine · cap · stand · shower · date · content · land · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. content — happy
  6. land — a country
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. date — the fruit
  9. stand — to bear
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. stock — shares
  13. shower — rain
  14. content — the amount
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fine — high quality
  23. land — ground
  24. stand — on your feet

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