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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  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. wound — an injury
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. land — ground
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. land — a country
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — an illness
  23. land — to come down
  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