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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. hand — help
  4. mug — a face
  5. perch — the fish
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stock — goods
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pound — a weight
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. mug — to rob
  18. land — a country
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mug — a cup
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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