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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stock — goods
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fine — all right
  15. club — for dancing
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. court — for sport
  19. chest — a box
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — moving air
  22. chest — of your body
  23. club — a group
  24. court — of a king

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