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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. mark — a trace
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. band — a ring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. can — to be able to
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. band — a music group

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