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

Word bank: fall · toast · row · saw · cabinet · spell · pound · race

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. fall — the season
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. spell — letters
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — a weight
  8. race — a contest
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. race — humankind
  16. row — a line
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. spell — magic
  19. row — to paddle
  20. toast — bread
  21. spell — a short time
  22. saw — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. pound — for dogs

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