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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — to trim
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. swing — in golf
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — to play on
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. swing — music
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. rule — to rule out

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