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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 120 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: cap · arm · mate · pound · rash · cold · wake · wind

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wind — moving air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — a series
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. mate — a partner
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. mate — to breed
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cap — a lid

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