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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 124 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. clip — for paper
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. kid — to tease
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bark — to shout

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