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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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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: stock · racket · wind · fine · cold · pound · lie · foot

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. foot — a measure
  4. fine — high quality
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fine — all right
  8. pound — a weight
  9. lie — to recline
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. stock — goods
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. wind — moving air
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. stock — shares
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. wind — moving air

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