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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. fine — all right
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. swing — in golf
  15. game — a match
  16. hand — help
  17. game — wild animals
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fine — high quality
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. ground — a position
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pound — a weight

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