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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 124 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mug — a cup
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. charge — in control
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. charge — a price
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. snap — to click
  15. chest — a box
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mug — a face
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. dip — to sink
  24. mug — to rob

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