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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: ground · present · cold · band · shower · bass · pound · pitch

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. ground — the earth
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. band — a ring
  5. present — there
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. present — a gift
  11. pitch — completely
  12. shower — rain
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. ground — a position
  18. band — a music group
  19. present — the time now
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ground — crushed
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bass — the instrument
  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