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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — a coil
  6. ground — a position
  7. cell — a phone
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. ground — crushed
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. swing — music
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. swing — to play on
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — of water
  21. pound — a weight
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spring — the season
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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