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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — a group
  4. spell — magic
  5. pound — a weight
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wind — moving air
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spell — letters
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. club — for golf
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mine — belonging to me

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