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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. can — to be able to
  3. cold — not warm
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. mug — a cup
  7. pound — a weight
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — to handle
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mate — to breed
  15. can — a tin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. can — a tin
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mug — to rob

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