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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 124 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. rash — hasty
  12. tear — from crying
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. snap — to click
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rash — a series
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pound — a weight
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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