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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. march — music
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mug — a face
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. row — a line
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. march — the month
  21. mug — to rob
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. march — the month
  24. mug — a cup

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