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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. hand — in cards
  3. file — a document
  4. clip — to cut
  5. file — a tool
  6. land — ground
  7. pound — a weight
  8. land — a country
  9. vault — a safe
  10. clip — for paper
  11. file — a line of people
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bore — to tire
  14. clip — a video
  15. land — to come down
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. hand — help
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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