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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pound — a weight
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a line
  6. mate — a partner
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — to wash
  10. stock — goods
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. shower — rain
  13. field — for sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stock — shares
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. field — a subject
  21. mark — a grade
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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