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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. capital — a city
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. current — happening now
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bulb — for light
  13. ground — crushed
  14. current — electric
  15. ground — a position
  16. current — of water
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — money
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. capital — a big letter

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