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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mate — to breed
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cell — a phone
  8. scale — in music
  9. mate — a partner
  10. pound — a weight
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — child
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cell — in biology
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. ground — a position
  19. lean — to bend
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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