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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. shower — rain
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — to shout
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pound — a weight
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — videos and posts

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