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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: foot · cap · snap · race · tear · squash · bound · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. cap — of ice
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pound — a weight
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — a measure
  10. cap — a hat
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bound — certain
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — from crying
  20. squash — the sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. race — the arms race

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