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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. scale — in music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. scale — size or range
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fine — all right
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — child
  14. land — ground
  15. court — for sport
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. court — of law
  18. fine — high quality

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