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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — in sport
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — music
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. pop — to visit
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pop — soda
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bulb — for light
  21. season — of the year
  22. bulb — for light
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. cold — the Cold War

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