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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bound — certain
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — an illness
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — not warm
  12. rest — what's left
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bound — tied together
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bound — obliged
  20. pound — a weight
  21. shower — to wash
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. shower — rain

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