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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. march — the month
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mine — for digging
  5. date — the fruit
  6. file — a document
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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