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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: club · jam · file · mouse · pound · kid · bark · pop

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — child
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pop — music
  7. kid — to tease
  8. club — a group
  9. pop — to visit
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bark — to shout
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. file — a document
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. club — for dancing
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. club — for golf
  23. pop — soda
  24. pound — for dogs

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