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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 124 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're almost out of ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. fall — to drop
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. present — there
  10. shower — rain
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pop — music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. row — to paddle
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pop — to visit
  22. present — the time now
  23. fall — to drop
  24. present — a gift

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