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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pound — a weight
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stock — shares
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. lie — to recline
  13. plane — a tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. squash — the sport
  19. key — for a lock
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. key — in music
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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