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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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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: pound · cold · spell · bulb · wound · rule · can · present

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — to be able to
  3. can — a tin
  4. present — a gift
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. wound — an injury
  8. can — a tin
  9. spell — letters
  10. rule — government
  11. bulb — for light
  12. present — there
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pound — a weight
  18. present — the time now
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rule — a law
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — magic

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