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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. net — after costs
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fine — all right
  5. net — in sport
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bear — the animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. net — for catching

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