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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kid — child
  7. wake — a trail
  8. fine — all right
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. kid — to tease
  11. band — a music group
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. scale — in music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. fine — high quality
  24. spell — letters

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