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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tube — the underground
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — a container
  6. wound — an injury
  7. can — to be able to
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — in cards
  10. can — a tin
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. hand — help
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. can — a tin
  24. pound — for dogs

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