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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bear — the animal
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. field — farmland
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. field — a subject
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. field — for sport
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pit — in a race
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. game — a match
  24. mate — a friend

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