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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tube — the underground
  5. can — a tin
  6. land — to come down
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. land — a country
  9. march — the month
  10. shower — rain
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. race — the arms race
  14. land — ground
  15. march — music
  16. can — to be able to
  17. shower — to wash
  18. can — a tin
  19. tube — a container
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. pound — a weight
  22. march — the month
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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