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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: row · wound · temple · ground · fork · present · pound · mug

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mug — to rob
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mug — a cup
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. row — a line
  11. present — the time now
  12. ground — crushed
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fork — in a road
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. present — there
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pound — a weight
  24. mug — a face

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