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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. roll — a list
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cold — not warm
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. roll — a cake
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pound — a weight
  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