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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. content — happy
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. content — the amount
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bulb — for light
  9. tear — from crying
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bulb — for light
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. tear — from crying
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. pound — a weight
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tear — to rip
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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