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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — soda
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pop — to visit
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. pound — a weight
  10. ground — the earth
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. pop — music
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. saw — the tool
  18. craft — a skill
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. craft — boats
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bear — the animal

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