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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. season — in sport
  3. pound — a weight
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. charge — a price
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. branch — a division
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — electricity
  15. season — of the year
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cold — an illness

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