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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — final
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — for catching
  8. band — a ring
  9. chip — for betting
  10. track — to keep track
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chip — to eat
  15. track — a song
  16. wound — an injury
  17. track — a path
  18. band — a music group
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — in a computer

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