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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — a permit
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wind — moving air
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pound — a weight
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cap — of ice
  20. kick — in football
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cap — a lid
  24. pound — to hit hard

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