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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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468
Word bank
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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. spell — letters
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. rash — hasty
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. mate — a partner
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. perch — the fish
  16. snap — to click
  17. spell — magic
  18. mate — a friend
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kid — child
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rash — a series
  23. pound — a weight
  24. racket — for tennis

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