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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bulb — for light
  5. face — to confront
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — a group
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pound — a weight
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — child
  19. club — for dancing
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — an illness
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. hide — animal skin

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