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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. row — a line
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. dip — to sink
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pound — a weight
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. court — for sport

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