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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. pound — a weight
  3. kid — to tease
  4. land — a country
  5. pop — soda
  6. bass — low music
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. land — to come down
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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