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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. cell — in biology
  3. chest — a box
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rash — hasty
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rash — a series
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. degree — an amount
  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