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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: bore · shower · rest · season · pound · pitcher · row · kid

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — to wash
  5. row — a line
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rest — a break
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. shower — rain
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pound — a weight

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