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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. pound — a weight
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bass — low music
  7. bat — the animal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bass — the fish
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. toast — bread
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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