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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pound — a weight
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. staff — employees
  13. club — for golf
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. race — a contest
  20. club — a group
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. race — humankind

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