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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 124 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rash — a series
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fine — high quality
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. drill — army training
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fine — all right
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — an illness
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cue — a signal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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