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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: ground · leaves · pound · board · bass · cold · straw · cell

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. cell — in biology
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. board — a committee
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — the fish
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ground — crushed
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. board — to get on
  16. pound — a weight
  17. ground — a position
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. straw — a straw man

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