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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. club — for dancing
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rule — a law
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rule — government
  9. hand — help
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. club — a group
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. club — for golf
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. hand — in cards

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