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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. face — part of the head
  10. pound — a weight
  11. face — to confront
  12. capital — money
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bass — the fish
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. capital — a city
  23. face — to point toward
  24. capital — a big letter

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