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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: court · pass · pound · sharp · stand · pitcher · cold · fall

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. court — for sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. fall — to drop
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — of a king
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pass — a permit
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. fall — the season

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