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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pop — soda
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pop — music
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. rest — a break
  11. cold — an illness
  12. can — a tin
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wound — an injury
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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