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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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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: shower · court · staff · pound · bear · tear · stock · rash

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. staff — employees
  3. rash — a series
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bear — the animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. court — of a king
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — goods
  19. staff — employees
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bear — the animal
  23. court — of law
  24. tear — to rip

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