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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. date — the fruit
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — farmland
  6. plane — a tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. field — a subject
  18. shower — rain
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — for sport
  23. pound — a weight
  24. shower — to wash

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