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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 116 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. mug — a cup
  3. pound — a weight
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pop — to visit
  7. degree — temperature
  8. file — a document
  9. pop — music
  10. mug — to rob
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. craft — boats
  13. bore — to tire
  14. mug — a face
  15. wound — an injury
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to drill
  18. craft — a skill
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — soda
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. file — a tool

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