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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fall — the season
  4. clip — for paper
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cue — a signal
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. scale — in music
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cue — for pool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a line
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — a video
  22. cue — a hint
  23. scale — size or range
  24. wound — an injury

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