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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cap — a hat
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pound — a weight
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mine — for digging
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mark — a grade
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cap — a lid
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cap — of ice
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. mark — a trace

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