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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. object — to protest
  5. pound — a weight
  6. band — a ring
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. current — electric
  16. object — an aim
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. band — a music group
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. current — happening now
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — a thing
  23. current — of water
  24. wind — moving air

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