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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. game — a match
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pound — a weight
  19. drill — the tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. drill — army training

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