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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 116 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. land — ground
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rush — hurry
  6. scale — size or range
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — to come down
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. scale — in music
  20. land — a country
  21. perch — the fish
  22. cold — not warm
  23. staff — employees
  24. rush — to hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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