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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wake — a trail
  11. row — a line
  12. chip — to eat
  13. cell — a phone
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. rush — to hurry

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