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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 124 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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bound — tied together
  4. spring — of water
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stock — goods
  7. can — a tin
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pound — a weight
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. can — a tin
  24. stock — shares

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