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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. season — in sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. pop — soda
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. season — of the year
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — music
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pop — to visit

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