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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. scale — size or range
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — a weight
  5. track — a path
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. track — to keep track
  10. game — a match
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. track — a song
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — in music
  16. branch — a division
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. game — wild animals
  24. shower — to wash

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