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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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Word bank
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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: ball · straw · shower · kid · bulb · patient · pound · mug

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ball — a dance
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bulb — for light
  10. kid — child
  11. mug — to rob
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mug — a cup
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. kid — to tease
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. mug — a face
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bulb — of a plant

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