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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. hand — help
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rule — government
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rule — a law
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. swing — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — in sport
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. net — after costs
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. swing — to play on

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