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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — an illness
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — a country
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — to come down
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. fall — the season

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