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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. shower — rain
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bass — low music
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — to tease
  8. current — happening now
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pound — a weight
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. current — of water
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pound — to hit hard

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