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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 · degree · stock · roll · mine · current · spell · bore

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. stock — goods
  3. mine — for digging
  4. roll — a list
  5. bore — to tire
  6. degree — an amount
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stock — shares
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. spell — letters
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. degree — from a university
  22. current — of water
  23. bore — to drill
  24. mine — an explosive

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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