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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. game — wild animals
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rock — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rash — hasty
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. deal — to handle
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. perch — the fish
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rash — a series
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ground — crushed
  24. game — a match

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