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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. pound — a weight
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rash — a series
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bound — tied together
  10. hand — in cards
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — help
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pit — in a race
  23. race — humankind
  24. mate — a friend

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