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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. bound — certain
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stock — shares
  15. branch — a division
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. file — a tool
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stock — goods
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. pound — a weight
  24. branch — of a tree

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