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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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Word bank
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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: wake · last · object · bark · fan · game · tear · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. object — to protest
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wake — a trail
  18. tear — to rip
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. last — finally
  24. bark — of a tree

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