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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. capital — money
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — to bear
  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