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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. charge — a price
  9. shower — to wash
  10. charge — in control
  11. rest — a break
  12. cell — in biology
  13. net — for catching
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spell — magic
  20. pound — a weight
  21. spell — a short time
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. spell — letters
  24. charge — electricity

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