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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. season — in sport
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fine — all right
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — of the year
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fine — high quality
  16. mate — a friend
  17. cold — not warm
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. mate — to breed
  24. season — to add flavour

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