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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: bear · pound · net · cold · deal · mine · ball · coach

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pound — a weight
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. ball — a great time
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. deal — to handle
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. net — for catching
  21. bear — the animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. cold — not warm

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