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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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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: ground · rash · mate · bark · pound · chip · fall · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — a series
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ground — a position
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bark — to shout
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mate — a partner
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. fall — to drop
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rash — hasty
  17. chip — to eat
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. fall — the season

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