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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. season — of the year
  3. shower — rain
  4. pound — a weight
  5. capital — money
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — of water
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spring — a coil
  13. capital — a city
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. press — a publisher
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spring — the season
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — in sport

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