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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. toast — bread
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. craft — a skill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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