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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. kick — in football
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. pound — a weight
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fork — in a road
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. clip — to cut
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. clip — a video

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