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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pound · game · pitcher · land · hide · bark · kid · track

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kid — child
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. game — a match
  10. land — to come down
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. track — a path
  15. pound — a weight
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. track — to keep track
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. track — a song
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — to tease
  22. game — wild animals
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. land — ground

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