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

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. craft — boats
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pound — a weight
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. bark — to shout
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — a short time
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lie — to recline
  18. cell — in a prison

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