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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spring — a coil
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pound — a weight
  16. court — of a king
  17. band — a music group
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. band — a ring
  22. ball — a great time
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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