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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. field — for sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. lie — to recline
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — farmland
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. face — to confront
  10. row — a line
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — to paddle
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pound — a weight
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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