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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. tube — the underground
  3. land — a country
  4. file — a document
  5. current — happening now
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. tube — a container
  12. march — the month
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. current — electric
  15. march — the month
  16. current — of water
  17. game — wild animals
  18. march — music
  19. game — a match
  20. pitch — completely
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a tool
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. land — ground

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