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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. pitch — completely
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. plane — a tool
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — ground
  9. row — to paddle
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. land — a country
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. kid — child
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. tube — the underground
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. land — to come down
  23. row — a line
  24. plane — in geometry

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