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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: shower · last · pound · chest · toast · ruler

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. last — finally
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. toast — bread
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chest — of your body
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. pound — a weight
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final

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