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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. rule — a law
  3. ground — a position
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bank — for money
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — to go on
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. ground — crushed
  15. last — final
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rule — government
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitch — completely
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — finally
  23. row — a line
  24. rule — to rule out

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