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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fine — all right
  7. tear — to rip
  8. game — a match
  9. fine — high quality
  10. spell — magic
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — moving air
  16. face — to confront
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. face — to point toward
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pound — a weight
  21. fall — the season
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. face — part of the head
  24. spell — letters

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