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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: shower · stock · field · chip · pop · fork · land · key

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. shower — rain
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. land — ground
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — to come down
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. field — for sport
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. field — a subject
  17. stock — shares
  18. fork — in a road
  19. stock — goods
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. key — for a lock
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. field — farmland

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