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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. last — to go on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. track — to keep track
  8. last — final
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. track — a path
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a document
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. track — a song
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. file — a tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. file — a line of people
  21. last — finally
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. foot — a measure
  24. pound — to hit hard

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