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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: wind · rest · deal · last · firm · leaves · bark · pound

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. last — final
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — to shout
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. firm — decided
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. firm — steady
  21. rest — a break
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. last — finally
  24. firm — a company

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