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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: can · ground · pound · pitcher · wound · spell · track · hand

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. ground — a position
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — the earth
  6. can — a tin
  7. track — a path
  8. spell — magic
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — a short time
  11. hand — help
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. hand — in cards
  15. spell — letters
  16. can — to be able to
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. ground — crushed
  21. track — to keep track
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wound — an injury
  24. can — a tin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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