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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. ground — crushed
  6. rash — a series
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pound — a weight
  9. ground — a position
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — not warm
  13. can — a tin
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. saw — the tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. mark — a grade
  21. can — to be able to
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mark — a trace

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