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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — to recline
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. pound — a weight
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. land — a country
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. land — ground
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. hand — in cards
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. land — to come down
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — help
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — an illness

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