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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ball — a dance
  4. track — a path
  5. track — to keep track
  6. ball — a great time
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — to cut
  16. track — a song
  17. club — for golf
  18. clip — for paper
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. clip — a video
  22. cell — a phone
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cell — in a prison

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