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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. net — for catching
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. last — to go on
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bass — the fish
  14. snap — to click
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. last — finally
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fork — in a road
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. last — final
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bound — certain
  24. stock — shares

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