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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. ground — a position
  3. spell — magic
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spell — letters
  11. ground — the earth
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spell — a short time
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — a division

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