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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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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. race — humankind
  5. present — the time now
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ground — a position
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. lie — to recline
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — a contest
  16. tear — to rip
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ground — crushed
  20. present — there
  21. pound — a weight
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — the earth

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