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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — rain
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bank — for money
  8. court — of law
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. court — of a king
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bank — of a river
  13. row — a line
  14. spell — letters
  15. bank — for money
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — to paddle
  18. file — a document
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spell — magic
  23. file — a tool
  24. spell — a short time

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