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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — the earth
  5. land — a country
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. net — after costs
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mug — a cup
  11. clip — for paper
  12. ground — a position
  13. clip — a video
  14. mug — a face
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ground — crushed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. land — to come down
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. net — for catching
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. net — in sport
  24. calf — of the leg

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