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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bear — the animal
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. land — a country
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. land — to come down
  12. key — in music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bear — the animal
  20. land — ground
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. wound — an injury
  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