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

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. rest — a break
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. scale — size or range
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — child
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. shower — to wash
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. shower — rain
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rest — what's left

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