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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: straw · stock · game · file · roll · clip · pop · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pound — a weight
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pop — soda
  6. roll — a cake
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. clip — for paper
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. pop — music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pop — to visit
  15. clip — a video
  16. stock — goods
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stock — shares
  23. game — a match
  24. roll — a list

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