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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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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pound — a weight
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — a hole
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — music
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. kid — child

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