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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. bore — to drill
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cap — a hat
  8. key — in music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. key — for a lock
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cap — a lid
  13. net — in sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cap — of ice
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. chest — a box
  24. fan — a supporter

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