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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — a weight
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bear — the animal
  12. chip — for betting
  13. swing — in golf
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. swing — music
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. season — of the year
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. sharp — clever
  23. season — in sport
  24. swing — to play on

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