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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pound — a weight
  8. present — a gift
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. present — the time now
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. present — there
  21. land — a country
  22. tear — to rip
  23. land — to come down
  24. prune — to trim

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