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

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. fine — all right
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. fine — high quality
  5. march — music
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pound — a weight

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