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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. shower — rain
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. current — electric
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pound — a weight
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. current — of water
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — the season
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bass — the fish
  19. face — to point toward
  20. current — happening now
  21. face — to confront
  22. clip — for paper
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — the instrument

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