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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. staff — employees
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pop — music
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pound — a weight
  14. root — of a word
  15. cap — a lid
  16. root — the cause
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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