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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. tube — a container
  5. hand — in cards
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. shower — rain
  10. current — electric
  11. face — to point toward
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — a country
  14. march — the month
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — to wash
  17. land — to come down
  18. current — happening now
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. face — to confront
  22. land — ground
  23. hand — help
  24. current — of water

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