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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. field — for sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. craft — boats
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chest — of your body
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. field — a subject
  13. hand — help
  14. field — farmland
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. craft — a skill
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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