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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. object — an aim
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — for sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. mate — a friend
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. object — a thing
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. object — to protest
  17. rush — hurry
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — farmland
  20. land — a country
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — to breed
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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