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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. tear — from crying
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. squash — to crush
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a match
  13. squash — the sport
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — wild animals
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. pound — a weight
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bass — low music
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to click
  22. bass — the fish
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rush — to hurry

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