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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kick — in football
  10. pound — a weight
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. shower — rain
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — belonging to me

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