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

Word bank: pound · squash · bear · wound · chair · ruler

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. chair — a leader
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — a weight

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