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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — to shout
  4. club — for dancing
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wind — moving air
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. game — a match
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. scale — size or range
  16. club — for golf
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. scale — in music
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mark — a grade
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wind — moving air

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