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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. kick — in football
  9. stem — to come from
  10. band — a ring
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — to cut
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. last — final
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. clip — for paper
  23. band — a music group
  24. stem — of a plant

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