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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. club — for golf
  3. track — a song
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. track — a path
  14. scale — in music
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wake — a trail
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. track — to keep track
  21. kick — in football
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. club — a group
  24. pound — to hit hard

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