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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: mine · hide · rest · drill · rash · present · cold · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. drill — a practice
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. present — the time now
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — a series
  14. present — a gift
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pound — a weight
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. drill — army training
  20. present — there
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rest — a break
  24. cold — the Cold War

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