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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — a weight
  5. last — final
  6. mate — to breed
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. last — to go on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. land — a country
  15. lie — to recline
  16. last — finally
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. land — ground
  20. capital — money
  21. cold — not warm
  22. capital — a city
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. hand — part of the body

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