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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pound — a weight
  3. ground — the earth
  4. kid — child
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a hint
  9. clip — a video
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. current — of water
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — crushed
  15. current — electric
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. current — happening now
  24. calf — of the leg

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