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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 116 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. prune — to trim
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pop — music
  5. game — a match
  6. pop — soda
  7. shower — rain
  8. pound — a weight
  9. shower — to wash
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pop — to visit
  17. game — wild animals
  18. court — for sport

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