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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. present — the time now
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — to tease
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — not warm
  18. present — there
  19. cold — an illness
  20. present — a gift
  21. march — the month
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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