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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. face — to confront
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — a coil
  7. kid — child
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. dip — to sink
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pound — a weight
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. face — part of the head

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