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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. pound — a weight
  3. can — a tin
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. press — newspapers
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. last — final
  12. kid — to tease
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — an illness
  15. prune — to trim
  16. press — to push
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pound — to hit hard

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