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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mate · staff · cell · lean · ground · pound

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cell — in biology
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. staff — employees
  8. mate — to breed
  9. ground — a position
  10. lean — thin
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — a phone
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. staff — a stick
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. staff — employees

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