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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pop — to visit
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. game — a match
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pop — soda
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. pound — a weight
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. game — wild animals
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — help
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — music
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. mark — a grade

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