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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. dip — to sink
  4. kid — to tease
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. pop — to visit
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. staff — employees
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in biology
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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