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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  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 — for dogs
  2. file — a document
  3. bound — obliged
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bound — tied together
  6. net — after costs
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. net — in sport
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. field — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — a subject
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bound — certain
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. field — farmland
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a tool
  22. bat — the animal
  23. net — for catching
  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