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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. object — to protest
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. kid — to tease
  8. object — a thing
  9. bass — low music
  10. last — finally
  11. pound — a weight
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kid — child
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. object — an aim
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bass — the fish

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