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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. court — of a king
  3. land — to come down
  4. kid — child
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. land — a country
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. court — of law
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. court — for sport
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kick — in football
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — ground
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — a weight

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