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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — help
  6. pound — a weight
  7. file — a document
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — in cards
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. file — a tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stand — on your feet

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