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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. object — to protest
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. pass — a permit
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pound — a weight
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. object — a thing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cold — an illness
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. ground — a position
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. ground — the earth
  24. object — an aim

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