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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: snap · date · pound · foot · cold · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — an illness
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. cold — not warm
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. snap — to click
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — a measure

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