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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ground — a position
  8. capital — a city
  9. spell — magic
  10. bark — to shout
  11. track — a path
  12. track — to keep track
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pound — a weight
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. track — a song
  21. capital — money
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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