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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pound — a weight
  11. dip — to sink
  12. degree — temperature
  13. kick — in football
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stock — goods
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — shares
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. kick — with a leg

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