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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 124 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: safe · wind · pound · rule · last · bowl

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. rule — a law
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. rule — government
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — a football final

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