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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 120 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bore — to tire
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — a weight
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. season — in sport
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. lie — to recline
  24. pitcher — a jug

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