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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bear — the animal
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — completely
  7. race — a contest
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — a break

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