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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stock — goods
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stock — shares
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. snap — to click
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. spring — a coil
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. kid — child
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tube — a container
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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