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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pop — to visit
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. pound — a weight
  6. drill — the tool
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. drill — a practice
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pop — soda
  13. drill — army training
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. pop — music
  16. last — final
  17. last — finally
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. last — to go on

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