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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. shower — rain
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. court — for sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. court — of law
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. court — of a king
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — a weight
  23. fork — in a road
  24. ground — the earth

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