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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. tube — the underground
  3. shower — rain
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pass — a permit
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. spell — magic
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — army training
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. tube — a container
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spell — a short time
  22. drill — a practice
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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