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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bank — for money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pound — a weight
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — for paper
  18. scale — in music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kid — child
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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