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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. file — a tool
  5. clip — for paper
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pound — a weight
  12. file — a document
  13. fine — high quality
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. mine — for digging
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. chest — a box
  24. fine — all right

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