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

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bark — to shout
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bat — for baseball

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