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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cue — for pool
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bank — for money
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bank — for money
  18. last — finally
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bore — to tire

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