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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. chest — a box
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — shares
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — a weight
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. chest — of your body

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