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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 120 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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. cell — a phone
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rule — a law
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. perch — the fish
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mine — for digging
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — government
  18. lie — to recline
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. perch — for a bird

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