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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — the time now
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. present — there
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — rain
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — to wash
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cap — of ice
  17. present — a gift
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. cap — a hat
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pound — a weight

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