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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  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. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. club — for golf
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. perch — the fish
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. net — after costs
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a city
  17. kid — child
  18. net — in sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. net — for catching
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. club — a group
  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