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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 124 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. stock — goods
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — certain
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. ground — a position
  10. stock — shares
  11. pound — a weight
  12. chip — to eat
  13. ground — crushed
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bound — obliged
  19. cold — an illness
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chip — in a computer

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