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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. mark — a trace
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. mark — a grade
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. last — final
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — finally
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. file — a tool
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. file — a document
  16. pound — a weight
  17. last — to go on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. kid — child

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