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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. ground — crushed
  7. chip — to eat
  8. kid — child
  9. row — a line
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pass — a permit
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chip — for betting
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. ground — the earth

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