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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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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: deal · shower · field · snap · craft · game · pound · dip

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. shower — to wash
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pound — a weight
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. deal — to handle
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. field — for sport
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. game — a match
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. snap — to click
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — farmland
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. shower — rain
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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