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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bear — the animal
  4. net — for catching
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rule — a law
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. net — in sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitch — completely

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