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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spell — a short time
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cue — for pool
  8. spell — letters
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cue — a hint
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cue — a signal
  16. date — the fruit
  17. squash — the sport
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. snap — to click
  21. spell — magic
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. kid — to tease
  24. file — a document

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