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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. clip — a video
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. spring — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spring — a coil
  15. net — after costs
  16. clip — to cut
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. roll — a cake
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. clip — for paper
  24. roll — a list

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