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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — child
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. ground — crushed
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. ground — a position
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — an injury

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