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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rock — a stone
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. rock — music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. tube — a container
  7. chest — a box
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. root — the cause
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. squash — the sport
  16. root — of a word
  17. tube — the underground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. root — of a plant
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. chest — of your body

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