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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. charge — a price
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. saw — the tool
  5. charge — electricity
  6. bear — the animal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. shower — rain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. charge — in control
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — child
  24. kick — in football

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