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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · cap · present · mouse · shower · pound

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. present — the time now
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pound — a weight
  10. present — there
  11. cap — a lid
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mouse — for a computer

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