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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. object — a thing
  3. firm — decided
  4. pound — a weight
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. object — to protest
  7. spell — letters
  8. object — an aim
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — goods
  16. bat — the animal
  17. firm — a company
  18. stock — shares
  19. shower — rain
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — magic
  24. firm — steady

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