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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 120 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: rock · file · game · stock · charge · content · wave · land

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — a country
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — goods
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. game — wild animals
  10. charge — a price
  11. rock — a stone
  12. charge — electricity
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. charge — in control
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. land — ground
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. game — a match
  23. land — to come down
  24. content — the amount

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