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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chest — a box
  7. object — an aim
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. pound — a weight
  10. object — to protest
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — a thing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. date — the fruit
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — a coil
  22. fall — the season
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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