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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to click
  4. dip — to sink
  5. land — a country
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. mug — a face
  8. land — ground
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. mug — to rob
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — not warm
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. land — to come down
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. plane — a tool
  22. mug — a cup
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. plane — in geometry

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