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

Word bank: bowl · mate · pound · foot · cold · present

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. foot — a measure
  6. mate — a partner
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — a gift
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. mate — to breed
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mate — a friend
  16. present — there
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pound — to hit hard

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