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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. last — final
  4. bear — the animal
  5. last — finally
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. ground — a position
  8. bear — the animal
  9. band — a ring
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. chest — a box
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. band — a music group
  18. last — to go on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. squash — to crush
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bear — to put up with

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