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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bulb — for light
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. row — a line
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hand — help
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cold — not warm
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. row — to paddle
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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