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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. bay — a horse colour
  2. swing — to play on
  3. pound — a weight
  4. swing — in golf
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — music
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. race — the arms race
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. race — a contest
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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