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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: net · bowl · bark · pound · hand · date · deal · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. hand — help
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. deal — to handle
  12. net — for catching
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. net — after costs
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. net — in sport
  19. bark — to shout
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mine — belonging to me

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