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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  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. bear — the animal
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stock — shares
  11. bear — the animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. stock — goods
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — an illness
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bear — to put up with
  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