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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. pit — a hole
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. net — after costs
  12. board — a committee
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. board — to get on
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. foot — a measure
  20. rush — hurry
  21. net — in sport
  22. pound — a weight
  23. clip — a video
  24. net — for catching

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