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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. last — to go on
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. last — finally
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wind — moving air
  10. land — a country
  11. key — the most important part
  12. land — ground
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — a weight
  16. last — final
  17. key — in music
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. tube — a container
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. pound — for dogs

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