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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pound — a weight
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — there
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — to rip
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — of law
  16. present — the time now
  17. file — a tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a document
  21. ball — a dance
  22. present — a gift
  23. court — for sport
  24. shower — to wash

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