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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. pound — a weight
  2. last — final
  3. stock — shares
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. game — a match
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — finally
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stock — goods
  13. land — ground
  14. kick — in football
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. last — to go on
  18. game — wild animals
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. land — a country
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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