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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: bear · kick · straw · pound · cell · mine · scale · plane

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bear — the animal
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. scale — in music
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. kick — in football
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. scale — size or range
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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