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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. club — a group
  3. race — a contest
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. race — humankind
  11. track — a path
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. track — a song
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. club — for golf
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. track — to keep track

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