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

Word bank: pound · net · chest · mouse · rule · fork

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rule — a law
  6. pound — a weight
  7. net — for catching
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. net — in sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. net — after costs
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — government
  18. chest — a box

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