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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bore — to drill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — a video
  13. deal — to handle
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. hand — help
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hand — in cards
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pound — for dogs

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