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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 116 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. file — a tool
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pop — to visit
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. deal — to handle
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a match
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pound — a weight
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. row — a line
  20. band — a music group
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. file — a document
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. game — a kind of play

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