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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — a position
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. tube — the underground
  9. drill — army training
  10. tube — a container
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. drill — a practice
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rock — a stone
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fall — the season
  20. mug — a face
  21. cue — a signal
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. drill — the tool
  24. tube — in a tire

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