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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 · fall · cap · foot · mug · kid · tear · pound

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pound — a weight
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cap — of ice
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a face
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mug — a cup
  22. kid — child
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cap — a lid

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