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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. net — for catching
  3. pound — a weight
  4. track — a path
  5. tear — to rip
  6. shower — rain
  7. bark — to shout
  8. track — to keep track
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. net — in sport
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. tear — from crying
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. track — a song
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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