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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. field — a subject
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. kick — in football
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. press — newspapers
  14. bound — tied together
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. band — a music group
  17. press — to push
  18. field — for sport
  19. hand — help
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — farmland
  23. press — a publisher
  24. band — a ring

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