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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — not warm
  4. season — of the year
  5. wind — moving air
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cue — for pool
  12. object — a thing
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. object — an aim
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. cue — a signal
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wind — moving air
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pound — for dogs

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