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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. game — a match
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — wild animals
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. key — the most important part
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — money
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pound — a weight
  15. track — a song
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. track — to keep track
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. track — a path
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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