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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. file — a tool
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cue — a hint
  5. track — a path
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. cue — a signal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. file — a document
  10. stock — shares
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stock — goods
  13. branch — a division
  14. board — a committee
  15. cue — for pool
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. file — a line of people
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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