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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. lean — thin
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. game — a match
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. lean — to bend
  22. rash — a series
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — a weight

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