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

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cell — a phone
  3. saw — the tool
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. key — the most important part
  7. face — to confront
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. key — in music
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in biology
  16. key — for a lock
  17. pound — a weight
  18. face — to point toward

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