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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — low music
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. object — to protest
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. tear — to rip
  15. drill — army training
  16. object — an aim
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — the tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bass — the fish

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