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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. net — for catching
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fall — the season
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. net — in sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pound — a weight
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — after costs
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. can — a tin
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — to wash
  24. staff — employees

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