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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pit — a hole
  3. fine — all right
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. lean — thin
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. roll — a list
  17. roll — a cake
  18. pit — in a race
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pound — a weight
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fine — high quality
  24. squash — the sport

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