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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 116 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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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: cold · kid · pitcher · firm · lie · mark · field · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. lie — to recline
  3. kid — child
  4. field — a subject
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — for sport
  11. mark — a trace
  12. field — farmland
  13. firm — decided
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kid — to tease
  17. firm — steady
  18. mark — a grade
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. firm — a company

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