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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. chest — a box
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pound — a weight
  9. toast — bread
  10. stock — shares
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — a contest
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. hand — help
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. race — humankind
  24. hand — part of the body

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