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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cap — a lid
  3. file — a document
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bound — tied together
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bound — certain
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cap — of ice
  20. swing — music
  21. content — the amount
  22. bound — obliged
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — not warm

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