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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pop — music
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. land — to come down
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. land — ground
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. face — to confront
  14. clip — a video
  15. face — part of the head
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a friend
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — a country
  23. pound — a weight
  24. face — to point toward

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