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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. drill — the tool
  8. spell — letters
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. row — a line
  12. spell — a short time
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — low music
  18. spell — magic
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bass — the fish
  24. drill — army training

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