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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: pound · can · fork · cold · wake · spell

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. can — to be able to
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. can — a tin
  14. cold — an illness
  15. can — a tin
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. spell — a short time

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