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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stand — to bear
  4. can — to be able to
  5. fine — all right
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. game — a match
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — shares
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — a tin
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fine — high quality
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stand — on your feet

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