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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. race — a contest
  4. field — farmland
  5. pound — a weight
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. club — for dancing
  9. race — humankind
  10. snap — to click
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. field — for sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. perch — the fish
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — for a bird

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