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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mug — a cup
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a tool
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mug — a face
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a document
  22. net — for catching
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. mug — to rob

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