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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pound — a weight
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rash — a series
  10. can — a tin
  11. object — an aim
  12. game — a match
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. wake — a trail
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. clip — to cut
  18. can — to be able to
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — a tin
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. clip — a video
  24. stock — a soup base

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