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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: leaves · bass · sharp · land · cold · pound · wound · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. land — to come down
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. bass — low music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — not warm
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bass — the fish
  12. sharp — clever
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wound — an injury
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. sharp — with an edge

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