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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 116 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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — the season
  6. saw — the tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pit — in a race
  17. spring — of water
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pit — a hole

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