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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. wake — a trail
  10. saw — the tool
  11. kick — in football
  12. squash — to crush
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fall — the season
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — for digging
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mine — an explosive

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