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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — a subject
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chip — for betting
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — to eat
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lean — thin
  11. sharp — clever
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. field — for sport
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cue — for pool
  24. leaves — of a tree

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