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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. race — a contest
  3. content — happy
  4. bulb — for light
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — the amount
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. shower — to wash
  11. staff — employees
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. race — humankind
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. staff — employees
  20. shower — rain
  21. staff — a stick
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pound — a weight
  24. content — videos and posts

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