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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: pound · cold · row · cell · rush · mine · court · suit

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. suit — in cards
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. court — of law
  8. suit — clothes
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of a king
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. court — for sport
  16. suit — to fit
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. row — a line
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. mine — an explosive

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