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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. mark — a trace
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — of water
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. spring — a coil
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — of ice
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. mark — a grade
  16. sharp — clever
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cap — a lid

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