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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bass — low music
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. branch — a division
  8. spell — magic
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. plane — a tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rest — a break
  21. pop — soda
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bass — the fish
  24. branch — of a tree

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