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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stock — shares
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spring — the season
  9. march — music
  10. spring — of water
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — soda
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. march — the month
  15. ground — a position
  16. spring — a coil
  17. march — the month
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pop — music
  21. stock — goods
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. foot — a measure

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