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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. board — to get on
  3. fine — all right
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. board — a committee
  15. bass — low music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fine — high quality
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. last — final
  24. bass — the fish

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