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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. net — after costs
  7. last — to go on
  8. net — in sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ball — a dance
  11. spell — magic
  12. last — finally
  13. spell — a short time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — hurry
  20. pound — a weight
  21. ball — a great time
  22. spell — letters
  23. tear — from crying
  24. last — final

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