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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. file — a line of people
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. file — a tool
  6. shower — rain
  7. race — humankind
  8. hand — in cards
  9. race — the arms race
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. race — a contest
  12. hand — help
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. pound — a weight
  17. staff — employees
  18. roll — a list
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. shower — to wash
  21. roll — a cake
  22. sharp — clever
  23. file — a document
  24. pound — to hit hard

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