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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — an illness
  4. last — final
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. can — to be able to
  7. can — a tin
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. season — in sport
  10. dip — to sink
  11. season — of the year
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — finally
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. can — a tin

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