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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — in sport
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pound — a weight
  14. net — in sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — for catching
  18. file — a document
  19. root — the cause
  20. net — after costs
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

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