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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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. kick — with a leg
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. net — after costs
  6. kid — to tease
  7. foot — a measure
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bank — for money
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — for catching
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. net — in sport
  18. kid — child
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. stock — goods
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bank — for money
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. bank — of a river

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