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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pound — a weight
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — from crying
  10. band — a ring
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. squash — to crush
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rash — a series
  16. wound — an injury
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to click
  22. race — humankind
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. rash — hasty

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