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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 116 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: pound · fall · wind · wake · mine · nail · bulb · rule

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. rule — a law
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fall — the season
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bulb — for light
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rule — government
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wind — moving air

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