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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. spring — of water
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wound — an injury
  10. current — happening now
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. current — electric
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. snap — to click
  18. current — of water
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. pound — a weight
  24. arm — part of the body

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