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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 120 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — to shout
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pop — soda
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. drill — army training
  14. rush — hurry
  15. hand — help
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. game — a match
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. drill — a practice

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