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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kid — child
  4. saw — the tool
  5. lean — to bend
  6. perch — the fish
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tear — from crying
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. tear — to rip
  12. lean — thin
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — for sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. field — farmland
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — to handle
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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