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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: pound · staff · shower · wound · tear · kid · saw · charge

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — in control
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. staff — employees
  7. wound — an injury
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. staff — a stick
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. charge — a price
  17. tear — to rip
  18. kid — child
  19. staff — employees
  20. saw — the tool
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — the 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