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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kid — child
  3. pound — a weight
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. land — to come down
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. season — in sport
  13. row — a line
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — to paddle
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. land — ground
  18. season — of the year

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