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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chip — to eat
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. net — after costs
  6. rule — a law
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chip — for betting
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rule — government
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — rain
  19. stem — to come from
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitch — a sports field

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