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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 116 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: leaves · cold · pound · object · bat · fan · pit · pass

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pound — a weight
  4. object — to protest
  5. pass — a permit
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. pit — a hole
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — an aim
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. object — a thing
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. pound — for dogs

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