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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mug — a face
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chest — a box
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. club — a group
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spell — magic
  10. club — for golf
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. game — wild animals
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pound — a weight
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spell — letters
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. sharp — clever
  24. game — a match

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