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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bass — low music
  3. rock — music
  4. last — finally
  5. charge — a price
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — final
  8. charge — in control
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bat — the animal
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bass — the fish
  22. rock — a stone
  23. last — to go on
  24. pound — for dogs

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