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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: stem · bear · rash · pop · cold · racket · arm · pound

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. 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. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pop — soda
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pop — music
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rash — a series
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. 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