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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. 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. court — for sport
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. row — to paddle
  6. court — of law
  7. race — the arms race
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — certain
  11. court — of a king
  12. row — a line
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. bound — tied together
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fork — in a road
  18. 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