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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. net — for catching
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. suit — to fit
  7. game — a match
  8. suit — in cards
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stock — shares
  12. suit — clothes
  13. mine — for digging
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. pound — a weight
  16. content — the amount
  17. net — in sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — happy
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — after costs

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