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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.

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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: season · rash · ground · mouse · present · pop · pound · cold

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. season — in sport
  3. pop — music
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. season — of the year
  6. pound — a weight
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pop — soda
  9. present — there
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ground — crushed
  13. present — a gift
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — hasty
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — a position
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. ground — the earth
  24. present — the time now

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