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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. squash — the sport
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — help
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. swing — to play on
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. kid — child
  24. swing — in golf

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