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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — moving air
  8. last — to go on
  9. last — finally
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. march — the month
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. last — final
  21. wind — moving air
  22. tear — from crying
  23. squash — to crush
  24. march — the month

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