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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: row · charge · mine · stock · content · land · mate · bear

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — happy
  4. stock — shares
  5. land — ground
  6. mate — a partner
  7. row — a line
  8. land — to come down
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mate — to breed
  12. content — the amount
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. charge — in control
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bear — the animal
  19. charge — electricity
  20. charge — a price
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bear — the animal
  24. land — a country

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