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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. ground — a position
  9. drill — the tool
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — the cause
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rule — a law
  18. drill — army training
  19. rule — government
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. root — of a plant

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