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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spring — the season
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. court — for sport
  10. chip — to eat
  11. ball — a great time
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — of a king
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ball — a dance
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pound — a weight
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. file — a line of people
  22. court — of law
  23. spring — of water
  24. pound — for dogs

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