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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rash — a series
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. ground — the earth
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — a position
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bass — the fish
  20. rash — hasty
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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