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

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — for dancing
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kid — child
  8. game — a match
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. game — wild animals
  12. prune — to trim
  13. club — for golf
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. club — a group
  18. deal — an agreement

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