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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. scale — in music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — in cards
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mug — a cup
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — help
  13. row — a line
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mug — to rob
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mug — a face
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stem — to come from
  22. row — to paddle
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hand — part of the body

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