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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — after costs
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. band — a ring
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rush — hurry
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. net — in sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cold — an illness
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — a weight
  24. band — a rubber band

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