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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. swing — to play on
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. swing — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rush — hurry
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — not warm
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. nail — for a hammer

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