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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — for light
  6. last — to go on
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. last — final
  10. pound — a weight
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — finally
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wound — an injury
  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