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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. spell — magic
  5. kid — to tease
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spell — a short time
  15. saw — the tool
  16. firm — a company
  17. firm — decided
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. firm — steady
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. saw — the tool
  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