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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — wild animals
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — a match
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fall — to drop
  8. net — after costs
  9. ground — crushed
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — in sport
  12. club — for dancing
  13. ground — a position
  14. club — a group
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. fall — the season
  20. club — for golf
  21. net — for catching
  22. pound — a weight
  23. ground — the earth
  24. sharp — exactly

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