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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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468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: present · squash · mate · pound · bulb · lean · cold · stock

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. present — the time now
  3. mate — a partner
  4. present — a gift
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. mate — a friend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stock — shares
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. present — there
  21. squash — to crush
  22. lean — to bend
  23. squash — the sport
  24. lean — thin

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