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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. land — ground
  4. clip — a video
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. land — a country
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. clip — for paper
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — a weight
  14. game — a match
  15. clip — to cut
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. root — the cause
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. land — to come down
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hand — help

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