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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 120 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: club · pound · lie · race · bowl · tear · kid · fork

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. kid — child
  5. tear — from crying
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fork — in a road
  19. race — humankind
  20. club — for golf
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. lie — to recline
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. club — for dancing

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