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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. press — to push
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. foot — a measure
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — in cards
  11. drill — the tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. press — a publisher
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. drill — army training
  16. pound — a weight
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. shower — rain
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. drill — a practice
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mine — an explosive

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