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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 116 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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bat — the animal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. club — for golf
  6. pound — a weight
  7. track — to keep track
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. club — a group
  11. perch — the fish
  12. track — a path
  13. mark — a trace
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. shower — rain
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. track — a song
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pound — for dogs

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