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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. dip — to sink
  4. tear — to rip
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — a hat
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. perch — the fish
  14. race — a contest
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — farmland
  18. race — the arms race
  19. field — a subject
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — the animal
  24. field — for sport

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