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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — to wash
  14. rush — hurry
  15. bat — the animal
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pound — a weight
  18. chest — of your body
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — a box
  22. fine — all right
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — of your body

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