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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: bass · kick · cap · pitcher · ball · fall · shower · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — of ice
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bass — low music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — in football
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pound — a weight
  16. ball — a great time
  17. fall — to drop
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cap — a hat
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. fall — the season
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitcher — a jug

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