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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ground — a position
  3. tube — a container
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. tube — the underground
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. tear — from crying
  10. spell — magic
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. ground — the earth
  19. pop — soda
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pop — music

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