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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 112 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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wound — an injury
  3. net — after costs
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. net — in sport
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rock — music
  11. net — for catching
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — a stone
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. kid — child
  24. wound — an injury

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