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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. last — final
  3. mine — for digging
  4. shower — rain
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — the tool
  11. last — finally
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. squash — to crush
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. drill — army training
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. shower — to wash
  20. last — to go on
  21. squash — the sport
  22. drill — a practice
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. racket — for tennis

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