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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cap — a lid
  4. rock — music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. current — of water
  7. cap — of ice
  8. squash — the sport
  9. current — happening now
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fall — the season
  14. current — electric
  15. cold — not warm
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rock — a stone
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. squash — the vegetable

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