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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. stock — goods
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. net — in sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a match
  10. net — after costs
  11. stock — shares
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. shower — rain
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — a weight

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