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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: game · pound · safe · rash · date · club · wind · ground

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. rash — hasty
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ground — crushed
  14. club — for golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. club — a group
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pound — a weight
  20. date — the fruit
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — the earth

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