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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bound — tied together
  4. prune — to trim
  5. firm — steady
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bound — obliged
  8. band — a music group
  9. firm — a company
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. clip — a video
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. band — a ring
  17. prune — to trim
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rule — a law
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rule — government
  22. firm — decided
  23. bound — certain
  24. shower — rain

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