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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. court — of a king
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — to wash
  10. land — a country
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. shower — rain
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. land — ground
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wind — moving air
  21. squash — to crush
  22. court — of law
  23. kid — to tease
  24. land — to come down

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