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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 took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bass — low music
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bass — the fish
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a city
  10. dip — to sink
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — money
  13. face — to confront
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. game — a match
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. pound — a weight
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. face — to point toward
  22. shower — to wash
  23. face — part of the head
  24. dip — a sauce

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