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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: coach · saw · pound · face · cold · mate · pit · prune

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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. pound — to hit hard
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — in a race
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pit — a hole
  9. cold — an illness
  10. face — part of the head
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. mate — a partner
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. face — to confront
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. prune — the fruit

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