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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. firm — steady
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. chair — a leader
  6. face — to point toward
  7. firm — decided
  8. clip — for paper
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. clip — a video
  14. firm — a company
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. capital — a city
  20. pit — a hole
  21. clip — to cut
  22. face — to confront
  23. capital — money
  24. face — part of the head

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