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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. key — for a lock
  11. file — a document
  12. key — the most important part
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. key — in music
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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