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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. snap — to click
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. net — after costs
  10. craft — boats
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. hand — in cards
  13. net — in sport
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. kid — child
  19. craft — a skill
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. net — for catching
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — help
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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