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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ground — a position
  3. clip — a video
  4. ground — crushed
  5. race — the arms race
  6. dip — to sink
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. clip — to cut
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. toast — bread
  15. ground — the earth
  16. race — humankind
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. bore — to tire
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. race — a contest
  24. toast — the most admired

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