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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cap — a hat
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mug — a face
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. mug — to rob
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cap — a lid
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. rash — a series
  23. last — final
  24. cap — of ice

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