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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. land — ground
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pound — a weight
  8. toast — bread
  9. dip — to sink
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. kid — child
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. wound — an injury
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. kid — to tease
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. branch — a division
  22. land — a country
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. jam — in traffic

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