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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. row — a line
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. key — in music
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wound — an injury
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. row — to paddle
  17. key — for a lock
  18. chest — a box
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — of your body
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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