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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. hand — help
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. race — humankind
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — clever
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. hand — in cards

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