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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: wave · tear · pound · last · patient · wind · bulb · track

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. track — a song
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pound — a weight
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. track — a path
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. last — finally
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bulb — for light
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pound — for dogs

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