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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pound — a weight
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. track — a song
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. staff — employees
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. march — the month
  12. track — a path
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. march — music
  17. file — a tool
  18. ground — a position
  19. track — to keep track
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ground — crushed
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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