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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pop — to visit
  3. present — a gift
  4. cold — not warm
  5. net — in sport
  6. present — there
  7. season — in sport
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pop — music
  11. season — of the year
  12. rash — a series
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pop — soda
  17. present — the time now
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. net — after costs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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