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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. current — happening now
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — help
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cold — an illness
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fine — high quality
  12. prune — to trim
  13. current — electric
  14. craft — boats
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hand — in cards
  18. current — of water
  19. pound — a weight
  20. craft — a skill
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. prune — the fruit

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