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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. row — to paddle
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. clip — a video
  5. game — a match
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — a weight
  8. cap — a hat
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. clip — for paper
  24. kick — in football

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