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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. present — there
  4. pound — a weight
  5. object — to protest
  6. clip — to cut
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — a video
  13. cold — not warm
  14. foot — a measure
  15. object — a thing
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. present — a gift
  18. wound — an injury
  19. present — the time now
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rock — a stone
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. object — an aim
  24. wound — an injury

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