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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 116 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pound — a weight
  5. game — wild animals
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. shower — rain
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. shower — to wash
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. spell — magic
  15. game — a match
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. staff — employees
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. staff — employees
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. spell — letters

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