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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. game — a match
  3. roll — a list
  4. march — music
  5. hand — in cards
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kick — in football
  9. club — for golf
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. pound — a weight
  12. hand — help
  13. march — the month
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. club — for dancing
  16. roll — a cake
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. club — a group
  22. march — the month
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kick — a thrill

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