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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — all right
  3. rash — a series
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cue — for pool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — a signal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — the earth
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ground — a position
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. fine — high quality
  21. ground — crushed
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — hasty
  24. bat — in an idiom

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