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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. scale — size or range
  4. club — a group
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. net — after costs
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. club — for golf
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. net — in sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. net — for catching
  24. sharp — exactly

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