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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pound — a weight
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wound — an injury
  24. temple — a place of worship

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