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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — to bear
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wound — an injury
  19. squash — the sport
  20. game — a match
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. calf — a young animal

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