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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. lean — thin
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. lean — to bend
  24. rest — a break

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