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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. pound — a weight
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — a cup
  5. shower — rain
  6. mug — a face
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. face — to point toward
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stock — goods
  11. face — part of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to confront
  17. shower — to wash
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to click
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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