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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bear — the animal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wind — moving air
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rule — a law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chest — of your body

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