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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. pound — a weight
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bore — to drill
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. track — a song
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tube — the underground
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — newspapers
  19. track — a path
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. tube — a container
  23. wind — moving air
  24. press — to push

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