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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. band — a ring
  3. cue — a hint
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. spell — letters
  7. bear — the animal
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cue — a signal
  11. land — ground
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. land — a country
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a music group
  16. hand — in cards
  17. stock — goods
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. stock — shares
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spell — magic
  22. hand — help
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. spell — a short time

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