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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stock — goods
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stem — to come from
  8. net — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cue — a hint
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. cue — for pool

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