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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pound — a weight
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. current — of water
  8. cold — not warm
  9. current — electric
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. shower — to wash
  15. current — happening now
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. shower — rain
  19. rest — a break
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  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