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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. current — happening now
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bound — tied together
  7. scale — size or range
  8. sharp — clever
  9. scale — in music
  10. current — electric
  11. bound — obliged
  12. season — of the year
  13. shower — to wash
  14. land — ground
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — a country
  17. season — in sport
  18. current — of water
  19. shower — rain
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. sharp — with an edge

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