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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pitch — completely
  4. row — a line
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — child
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fine — all right
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pound — a weight

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