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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: club · saw · mate · pound · cold · staff · dip · row

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — for dancing
  5. row — to paddle
  6. mate — to breed
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — an illness
  9. saw — the tool
  10. staff — employees
  11. pound — a weight
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. club — for golf
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cold — not warm
  20. row — a line
  21. club — a group
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — a stick

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