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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. spell — a short time
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cue — for pool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. clip — to cut
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. shower — to wash
  16. cue — a signal
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cue — a hint
  19. perch — the fish
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. content — the amount
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — a video

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