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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: pop · craft · squash · mate · pound · ball · face · cold

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — a weight
  5. craft — boats
  6. pop — to visit
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. face — to confront
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mate — a friend
  12. squash — the sport
  13. face — to point toward
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mate — a partner
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pop — soda
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pop — music
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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