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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. root — the cause
  4. staff — employees
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. root — of a plant
  10. ground — a position
  11. kid — child
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — of a word
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pound — a weight
  24. hand — help

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