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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 · content · stock · pit · band · mine · rock · land

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. land — to come down
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rock — music
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — a country
  10. stock — goods
  11. pit — a hole
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — a stone
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. content — the amount
  16. pit — in a race
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stock — shares
  20. band — a music group
  21. land — ground
  22. content — happy
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. rock — to move gently

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