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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 124 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. hand — in cards
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. scale — size or range
  9. swing — in golf
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. swing — music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. scale — in music
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. fine — high quality
  19. hand — help
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. row — a line
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. ruler — for measuring

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