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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. field — farmland
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. swing — music
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — to drill
  16. shower — to wash
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. swing — to play on
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. capital — money
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. field — for sport
  24. dip — to sink

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