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

Word bank: hand · pound · deal · kid · track · fine

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fine — all right
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — to keep track
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. deal — to handle
  13. track — a path
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fine — high quality
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — a weight

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