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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pitch — completely
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. spell — letters
  9. field — a subject
  10. current — of water
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spell — magic
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. field — for sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. tear — from crying

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