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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. race — a contest
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. race — the arms race
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. roll — a cake
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mark — a grade
  22. roll — a list
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of a tree

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