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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. tear — from crying
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. foot — a measure
  10. tear — from crying
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. row — to paddle
  15. toast — bread
  16. row — a line
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. pound — a weight
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bass — the fish
  22. tear — to rip
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. pound — to hit hard

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