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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. land — a country
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. drill — a practice
  8. land — to come down
  9. rest — a break
  10. land — ground
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — army training
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — the tool
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bark — to shout

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