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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. file — a tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a document
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pound — a weight
  12. saw — the tool
  13. race — humankind
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stem — to come from
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. court — of a king
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. court — of law
  23. chair — a leader
  24. stem — of a plant

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