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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. hand — help
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — to rip
  8. scale — size or range
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stock — shares
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. content — the amount
  19. hand — in cards
  20. content — happy
  21. scale — in music
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bear — the animal
  24. tear — from crying

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