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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fine — high quality
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — low music
  8. fine — all right
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mug — a face
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — of water
  13. bass — the fish
  14. prune — to trim
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. clip — for paper
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. spring — the season
  20. clip — a video
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mug — to rob

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