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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. ground — crushed
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. key — for a lock
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. key — in music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. key — the most important part
  10. ground — the earth
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. spell — letters
  14. chest — a box
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lean — thin
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pound — a weight
  22. ground — a position
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. spell — magic

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