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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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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: fall · ground · ball · pound · key · temple · cold · wind

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. key — in music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ball — a great time
  7. fall — the season
  8. key — for a lock
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ground — the earth
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ground — a position
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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