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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: pound · cue · dip · shower · sharp · squash · game · file

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. file — a document
  6. pound — a weight
  7. squash — to crush
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cue — a signal
  14. shower — rain
  15. sharp — clever
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cue — a hint
  20. shower — to wash
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. file — a 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