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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 120 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: ground · kid · cap · mate · mouse · shower · bay · pound

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. pound — a weight
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. kid — child
  24. bay — a horse colour

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