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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: pop · land · pass · chair · straw · pound · wound · shower

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — ground
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pop — music
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. land — to come down
  8. pass — a permit
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pop — soda
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pound — a weight
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a leader
  18. land — a country
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — rain
  23. pop — to visit
  24. chair — to sit on

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