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

Word bank: drill · swing · capital · pound · rest · shower

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — a practice
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rest — what's left
  6. swing — to play on
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rest — a break
  9. capital — money
  10. pound — a weight
  11. shower — rain
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. rest — what's left
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool

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