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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pit — in a race
  4. shower — rain
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. land — to come down
  7. board — to get on
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. board — a committee
  10. land — ground
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. key — for a lock
  13. land — a country
  14. key — in music
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fine — all right
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pit — a hole
  24. cold — the Cold War

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