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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for golf
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chair — a leader
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wind — moving air
  24. deal — an agreement

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