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

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — a weight
  4. season — of the year
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pop — soda
  7. present — the time now
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pop — to visit
  14. season — in sport
  15. pop — music
  16. present — there
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. race — humankind
  21. present — a gift
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. track — a path

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