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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. saw — the tool
  3. court — of law
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mark — a grade
  12. court — of a king
  13. band — a ring
  14. pit — a hole
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — a signal
  19. court — for sport
  20. mark — a trace
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pound — for dogs

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