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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pound — a weight
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stand — to bear
  10. clip — for paper
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. clip — a video
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — to eat
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bear — the animal
  24. shower — rain

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