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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. foot — a measure
  3. court — for sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. row — a line
  6. firm — steady
  7. kid — child
  8. pound — a weight
  9. court — of law
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. net — in sport
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. net — for catching
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tube — a container
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. firm — decided
  20. tube — the underground
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. firm — a company

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