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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. saw — the tool
  7. season — in sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. mine — for digging
  10. object — to protest
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. hand — help
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — a thing
  16. rash — hasty
  17. season — of the year
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. object — an aim
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rash — a series
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. hand — in cards
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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