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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — for sport
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lie — to recline
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. root — the cause
  14. mate — to breed
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. field — farmland
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. mate — a friend
  21. field — a subject
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. root — of a plant

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