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

Word bank: land · prune · object · pound · saw · stock · wound · mug

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. object — to protest
  3. stock — goods
  4. land — to come down
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. object — an aim
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mug — to rob
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — a cup
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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