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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. ground — the earth
  5. clip — for paper
  6. charge — a price
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. track — a path
  9. clip — a video
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. track — a song
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pound — a weight
  15. clip — to cut
  16. ground — crushed
  17. track — to keep track
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — help
  20. charge — electricity
  21. charge — in control
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — a hole
  24. straw — a straw man

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