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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. roll — a cake
  5. swing — to play on
  6. wind — moving air
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. snap — to click
  9. roll — a list
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. swing — in golf
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. shower — to wash
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. plane — a tool
  17. swing — music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. shower — rain
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. pound — a weight
  24. wind — moving air

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