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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. tube — a container
  3. tear — from crying
  4. present — a gift
  5. land — a country
  6. mug — a face
  7. rest — what's left
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mug — a cup
  11. drill — a practice
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mug — to rob
  14. land — ground
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rest — a break
  17. present — there
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. land — to come down
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — army training

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