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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. object — a thing
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — for paper
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fall — the season
  12. object — to protest
  13. wake — a trail
  14. field — farmland
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bank — of a river
  18. clip — a video
  19. bank — for money
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. field — a subject

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