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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. shower — rain
  3. dip — to sink
  4. pound — a weight
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mine — for digging
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — to wash
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — of the year
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. club — for dancing

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