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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bark — to shout
  5. chest — a box
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pound — a weight
  9. court — of law
  10. charge — in control
  11. chest — of your body
  12. charge — a price
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. charge — electricity
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mine — belonging to me

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