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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pound — a weight
  10. file — a document
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wound — an injury
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. file — a tool
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rush — hurry
  18. row — a line
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pound — to hit hard

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