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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pound — a weight
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bark — to shout
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — child
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mark — a grade
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mark — a trace
  24. kid — to tease

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