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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. pound — a weight
  4. file — a tool
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ground — a position
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bass — the fish
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ground — the earth
  13. shower — rain
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a document
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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