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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. squash — to crush
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. pound — a weight
  20. clip — a video
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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