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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. pound — a weight
  6. degree — temperature
  7. prune — to trim
  8. swing — in golf
  9. degree — from a university
  10. can — to be able to
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — a country
  14. pop — music
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. can — a tin
  18. pop — soda
  19. swing — to play on
  20. degree — an amount
  21. swing — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. can — a tin

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