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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. march — the month
  3. current — happening now
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. march — the month
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. band — a ring
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — of a king
  10. current — electric
  11. snap — to click
  12. current — of water
  13. hand — help
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. march — music
  19. kid — child
  20. court — for sport
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kid — to tease
  24. band — a music group

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