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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. land — ground
  11. pound — a weight
  12. land — a country
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cold — an illness
  15. kid — child
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — to tease
  23. land — to come down
  24. wind — moving air

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