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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: leaves · board · row · perch · pound · cold · ground · cue

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  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 — the Cold War
  2. ground — crushed
  3. board — a committee
  4. cue — for pool
  5. board — to get on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. ground — a position
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. pound — a weight
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. row — to paddle
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. row — a line
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cue — a signal
  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