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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pound — a weight
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — for pool
  6. can — a tin
  7. cue — a hint
  8. swing — music
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. season — of the year
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cue — a signal
  18. wax — to grow
  19. season — in sport
  20. swing — to play on
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — not warm

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