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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pass — a permit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — a city
  11. shower — to wash
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. capital — money
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. shower — rain
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. capital — a big letter

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