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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 116 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. hand — help
  3. prune — to trim
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. last — finally
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. hand — in cards
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. last — final
  16. snap — to click
  17. prune — to trim
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — in music
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. last — to go on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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