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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. object — to protest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. field — for sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. bass — the fish
  16. scale — in music
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — a permit
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. wind — moving air
  21. scale — size or range
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. bass — low music

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