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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 120 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bat — the animal
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. can — a tin
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. can — a tin
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kick — in football
  14. board — to get on
  15. mate — a friend
  16. board — a committee
  17. pound — a weight
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bat — in an idiom

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