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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: game · drill · scale · ground · pound · bark · hand · wake

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ground — crushed
  7. scale — size or range
  8. game — a match
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. scale — in music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. ground — a position
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bark — to shout
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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