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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. rash — hasty
  4. chest — a box
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — a short time
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. branch — a division
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cell — in biology
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. pound — a weight
  20. saw — the tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. fan — a supporter

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