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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: pound · wind · stick · rule · bore · season · bulb · race

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rule — government
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. race — humankind
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to tire
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — moving air
  14. season — of the year
  15. race — a contest
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pound — a weight
  18. rule — a law
  19. season — in sport
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. bore — to drill
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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