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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — a weight
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. saw — the tool
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. spell — magic
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — letters
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spell — a short time
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — for dogs

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