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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 116 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bass — the fish
  3. capital — a city
  4. kick — in football
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — a song
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. track — a path
  15. file — a tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. capital — money
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bass — low music
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. track — to keep track

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