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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: present · land · bark · cell · mug · object · kick · pound

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. land — ground
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. land — a country
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — an aim
  11. present — there
  12. mug — a face
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cell — in biology
  17. mug — to rob
  18. present — the time now
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pound — a weight
  21. object — a thing
  22. kick — in football
  23. cell — a phone
  24. land — to come down

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