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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a dance
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. press — a publisher
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — a practice
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. club — for golf
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. press — newspapers
  19. press — to push
  20. ball — a great time
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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