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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. kid — child
  4. land — a country
  5. perch — the fish
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. land — ground
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — in sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. land — to come down
  15. pass — a permit
  16. kid — to tease
  17. net — for catching
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — a box
  20. net — after costs
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — for a bird

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