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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ground — the earth
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pound — a weight
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. kid — child
  9. ground — a position
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — for digging
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — the season
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stem — of a plant

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