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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. track — a song
  4. spell — magic
  5. mark — a grade
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. track — a path
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. current — of water
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. current — electric
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. track — to keep track
  21. current — happening now
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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