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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — the tool
  7. pound — a weight
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. drill — army training
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fall — the season
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. sharp — clever
  17. bulb — for light
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — for light
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. fall — to drop

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