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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 · pitcher · safe · shower · roll · wound · cell · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cell — a phone
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. cell — in biology
  8. roll — a list
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. mug — a cup
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mug — to rob
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. shower — rain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stock — shares
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. roll — a cake

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