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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 124 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. spring — the season
  12. club — a group
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. date — the fruit
  15. fine — high quality
  16. pound — a weight
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. fine — all right
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hide — to keep secret

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