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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: land · foot · rash · stock · pitcher · deal · ruler · content

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. foot — a measure
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. land — a country
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. rash — a series
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. land — ground
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. deal — to handle

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