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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a song
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. ground — crushed
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pound — a weight
  14. cold — not warm
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — a position
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. track — a path
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. pass — a permit
  23. ground — the earth
  24. saw — the tool

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