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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. court — for sport
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fork — in a road
  6. court — of a king
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cap — a hat
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. snap — to click
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. court — of law
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cap — of ice
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — music
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pound — for dogs

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