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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. firm — a company
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — a friend
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mate — a partner
  11. clip — for paper
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wound — an injury
  17. scale — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. firm — steady
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. firm — decided
  23. wound — an injury
  24. scale — size or range

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