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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. stock — shares
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cue — a hint
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — child
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. land — ground
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cue — a signal
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — a weight
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — a country
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pound — for dogs

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