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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. race — humankind
  5. field — a subject
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. race — the arms race
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. bass — low music
  17. hand — help
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. field — farmland
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hand — in cards

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