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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  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. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — help
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. object — a thing
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. drill — army training
  16. swing — in golf
  17. object — to protest
  18. chest — of your body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — an aim
  23. swing — to play on
  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