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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. swing — to play on
  5. roll — a cake
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — the animal
  8. swing — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. roll — a list
  11. object — to protest
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. object — a thing
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. swing — in golf

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