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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. can — a tin
  3. rash — a series
  4. staff — employees
  5. cold — not warm
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. clip — a video
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bound — certain
  16. can — a tin
  17. bound — tied together
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — for paper
  20. tear — from crying
  21. staff — a stick
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. can — to be able to

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