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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. clip — a video
  5. deal — to handle
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — in biology
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. track — a path
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pound — a weight
  18. track — a song
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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