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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: spring · rush · season · toast · kid · stock · snap · pound

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. spring — the season
  4. pound — a weight
  5. season — in sport
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. rush — hurry
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. toast — bread
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. spring — of water

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