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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. craft — boats
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — help
  5. deal — to handle
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. press — to push
  11. craft — a skill
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. press — newspapers
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — a publisher
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. ball — a round shape

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