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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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Word bank
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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: shower · club · sharp · cold · pound · nail · mouse · press

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. pound — a weight
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. sharp — clever
  7. press — newspapers
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. press — to push
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — for dancing
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. shower — rain
  18. club — a group
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. club — for golf
  24. mouse — the animal

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