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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. march — the month
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stand — to bear
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cold — an illness
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — a series
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. shower — rain
  16. mate — a partner
  17. march — music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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