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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: pitcher · stock · content · wind · game · chair · pop · perch

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stock — goods
  6. game — a match
  7. content — happy
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pop — to visit
  12. content — the amount
  13. pop — music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. chair — a leader
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pop — soda
  24. stock — a soup base

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