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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — a city
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — money
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. march — the month
  17. fork — in a road
  18. object — a thing
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — rain
  21. march — music
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. arm — part of the body

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