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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pound — a weight
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. track — a song
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — child
  24. shower — to wash

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