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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. clip — for paper
  4. ball — a great time
  5. club — for dancing
  6. clip — a video
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — to cut
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bass — the fish
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. club — a group
  14. bass — low music
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. tear — from crying
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — for golf
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. foot — a measure
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ball — a dance

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