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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. foot — a measure
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. stand — to bear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mate — to breed
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. pound — a weight
  16. squash — to crush
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chest — a box
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. squash — the sport
  23. mate — a partner
  24. stand — for spectators

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