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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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 — a weight
  2. march — music
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. game — wild animals
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — from crying
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. tear — from crying
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. march — the month
  14. tear — to rip
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. field — for sport
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. march — the month
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. game — a match
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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