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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. toast — bread
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — in football
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. snap — to click
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. branch — a division
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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