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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. face — part of the head
  6. net — after costs
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — to point toward
  12. current — electric
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — happening now
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stock — goods
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. net — for catching
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. face — to confront
  21. net — in sport
  22. pound — a weight
  23. current — of water
  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