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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: bowl · rule · ground · perch · kid · chip · wound · pound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — child
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chip — to eat
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — a position
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rule — government
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rule — a law

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