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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. root — of a word
  6. bark — to shout
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — soda
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pound — a weight
  14. root — the cause
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pop — to visit
  19. root — of a plant
  20. row — to paddle
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — a line
  24. stand — for spectators

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