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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · pound · bear · mouse · craft · chest

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. craft — a skill
  4. bear — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. craft — boats
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cold — the Cold War

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