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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rock — music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. cap — of ice
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cap — a hat
  14. fall — the season
  15. ground — the earth
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — in sport
  18. pound — a weight
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ground — a position
  24. rock — a stone

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