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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. toast — bread
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fall — the season
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. current — electric
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — a weight
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. current — happening now
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — of water

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