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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. object — to protest
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lean — to bend
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — an aim
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stock — shares
  20. kick — in football
  21. pitch — completely
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. lean — thin
  24. pound — for dogs

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