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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. season — of the year
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ground — the earth
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fine — all right
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. face — to confront
  17. ground — crushed
  18. season — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. face — to point toward
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. face — part of the head
  23. fine — high quality
  24. pound — for dogs

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