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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: bear · shower · trunk · content · pound · hand · spell · rock

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. content — the amount
  10. spell — magic
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hand — help
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spell — a short time
  17. content — happy
  18. spell — letters
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rock — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — a weight
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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