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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mine — for digging
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. squash — to crush
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. field — farmland
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. field — for sport
  15. mark — a grade
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — a practice
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mark — a trace
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — a subject
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. mug — a face

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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