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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. pop — music
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — child
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pop — soda
  11. kid — to tease
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. pop — to visit
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. game — a match
  19. shower — rain
  20. rule — government
  21. game — wild animals
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. branch — a division
  24. pound — for dogs

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