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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: mate · bass · land · deal · tear · pound · bound · cold

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. deal — to handle
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bound — tied together
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bass — low music
  11. land — a country
  12. mate — a partner
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bound — certain
  16. land — to come down
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mate — to breed
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. land — ground

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