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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: clip · rock · pit · pound · shower · firm · row · wound

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wound — an injury
  5. firm — decided
  6. rock — music
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. clip — for paper
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a line
  13. shower — rain
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. firm — steady
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — to cut
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pit — in a race
  23. shower — to wash
  24. firm — a company

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