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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. track — a song
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kid — to tease
  5. roll — a list
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. hand — help
  14. track — a path
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. pound — a weight
  17. track — to keep track
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. kid — child
  20. roll — a cake
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pound — to hit hard

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