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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. row — a line
  8. season — in sport
  9. game — a match
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stock — shares
  17. season — of the year
  18. snap — to click
  19. field — a subject
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stock — goods
  23. deal — to handle
  24. pound — to hit hard

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