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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rash — a series
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. staff — a stick
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. staff — employees
  20. rash — hasty
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of law
  24. straw — dry grass

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