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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rock — a stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — for betting
  8. rock — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — an illness
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — not warm
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chip — to eat
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. foot — a measure

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