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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 120 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 black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. march — the month
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. march — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. bore — to drill
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. club — for golf
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bore — to tire
  17. club — a group
  18. march — the month
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. kick — in football
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cold — an illness

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