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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. rash — a series
  9. chair — a leader
  10. can — a tin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. can — to be able to
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. can — a tin
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. band — a music group
  23. wake — a trail
  24. nail — for a hammer

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