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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. roll — a list
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. shower — rain
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fork — in a road
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bark — to shout
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cell — a phone

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