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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: tear · snap · temple · squash · scale · last · cell · pound

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. tear — to rip
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. tear — from crying
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. squash — the sport
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cell — in biology
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. last — final
  22. snap — to click
  23. scale — in music
  24. cell — a phone

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