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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. rock — music
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hand — in cards
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rock — a stone
  10. hand — help
  11. cell — in biology
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. face — to confront
  16. row — a line
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cell — a phone

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