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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. suit — to fit
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. squash — to crush
  10. field — farmland
  11. suit — clothes
  12. tube — the underground
  13. key — the most important part
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — for sport
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. tube — a container
  23. field — a subject
  24. pound — a weight

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