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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: kick · pit · pound · game · current · cap · shower · ground

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. game — wild animals
  3. ground — crushed
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cap — a lid
  6. current — happening now
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — a position
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. current — of water
  12. cap — of ice
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. current — electric
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cap — a hat
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. kick — in football
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pit — a hole

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