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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a line of people
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. file — a tool
  7. file — a document
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rule — government
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rule — a law
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. tear — from crying

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