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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. prune — to trim
  6. file — a tool
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. land — a country
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bound — obliged
  15. present — the time now
  16. file — a line of people
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. present — a gift
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. present — there
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a document
  23. land — ground
  24. pound — a weight

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