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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. chest — a box
  3. bear — the animal
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bear — the animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cap — a hat
  24. chest — of your body

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