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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 120 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 · march · bore · ground · scale · pound · chest · season

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. march — the month
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. scale — in music
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bore — to drill
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pound — a weight
  11. shower — rain
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chest — of your body
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. season — of the year
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. season — in sport
  24. march — music

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