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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mark — a trace
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rock — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wound — an injury
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. swing — music

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