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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cue — a hint
  3. bass — low music
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tube — a container
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bass — the fish
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. last — finally
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cue — a signal
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. tube — the underground
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lie — to recline

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