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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 116 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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pound — a weight
  5. present — the time now
  6. net — in sport
  7. present — a gift
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — the fish
  10. net — after costs
  11. cold — not warm
  12. present — there
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. net — for catching
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird

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