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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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468
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: stick · stock · ground · sharp · fall · staff · game · tube

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — crushed
  4. staff — employees
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stock — shares
  8. staff — employees
  9. ground — the earth
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — to drop
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. staff — a stick
  18. tube — the underground
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — a position
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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