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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. net — for catching
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. net — in sport
  17. pound — a weight
  18. lean — to bend
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. net — after costs
  24. stock — shares

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