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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. rash — hasty
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — a match
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — a series
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cue — a hint
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cue — a signal
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a music group
  24. cue — for pool

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