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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bound — certain
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. roll — a list
  7. bound — obliged
  8. roll — a cake
  9. last — finally
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. band — a ring
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wind — moving air
  14. key — for a lock
  15. last — to go on
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bound — tied together
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. band — a music group

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