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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. foot — a measure
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — a subject
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bat — the animal
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — to hit hard

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