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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bound — certain
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bound — obliged
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. perch — the fish
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bound — tied together
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — a weight
  22. court — of a king
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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