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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. last — final
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. fall — the season
  8. cold — an illness
  9. board — a committee
  10. pound — a weight
  11. board — to get on
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lie — to recline
  17. last — to go on
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — finally
  22. vault — a safe
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lie — an untruth

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