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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · ground · scale · pound · snap · kid

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. snap — to click
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cell — in biology
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kid — child
  11. scale — size or range
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pound — a weight
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — in 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