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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pound — a weight
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. net — in sport
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. net — for catching
  14. kid — child
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mouse — the animal
  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