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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. pitch — completely
  3. drill — a practice
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spring — of water
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. drill — army training
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. spring — a coil
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spring — the season
  21. pound — a weight
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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