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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fine — all right
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. cap — of ice
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. chip — for betting
  11. kid — to tease
  12. file — a document
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pound — a weight
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — child
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — a hat
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mine — for digging

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