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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. snap — to click
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. court — of a king
  11. present — there
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. pound — a weight
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. present — a gift
  17. hand — in cards
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. court — for sport
  21. hand — help
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. court — of law
  24. row — to paddle

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