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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wound — an injury
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mug — a face
  9. season — in sport
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mug — to rob
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. shower — rain
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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