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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. court — for sport
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wound — an injury
  13. court — of a king
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — of law
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cell — a phone
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. row — a quarrel

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