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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. land — to come down
  4. key — the most important part
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. key — for a lock
  8. land — ground
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. key — in music
  12. land — a country
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool

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