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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. shower — rain
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. prune — to trim
  15. shower — to wash
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stand — to bear
  19. last — finally
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rash — hasty
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. rash — a series

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